


Merry and Bright

by rowofstars



Series: 31 Days of Fandomas 2019 [7]
Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: 31 Days of Fandomas 2019, Christmas, Christmas Fluff, Established Relationship, F/M, Ficlet
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-26
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:02:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 505
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21966298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rowofstars/pseuds/rowofstars
Summary: Mr. Gold tries to take in the Christmas makeover his house has been given.
Relationships: Belle/Rumplestiltskin | Mr. Gold
Series: 31 Days of Fandomas 2019 [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1561927
Comments: 24
Kudos: 39





	Merry and Bright

**Author's Note:**

> Another prompt, another Skin Deep call back. Because I am 100% That Bitch. For the 31 Days prompt #21: bright.

“Well, what do you think?”

Mr. Gold stared up at his stately Victorian house which up until now had loomed over the cul-de-sac at the end of Forest Lane the way he imagined a dark wizard’s castle would over a fairytale kingdom. During the holiday season, when all the other houses were adorned with lights and decorations, his was the lone hold out. But that was before the arrival of Belle French, who breezed into sleepy Storybrooke, and reopened not only the library that had been boarded up for nearly thirty years, but his heart right along with it, through the sheer force of her will and determination.

In the last two years, she had become the light and love of his life, and so, when she requested his permission to decorate the outside as well as the inside for the holidays, he was helpless to do anything but agree. However, upon seeing his home bedecked in lights, garland, bows, and wreaths, he was admittedly having some second thoughts.

“It’s very...bright,” he remarked, frowning slightly.

Belle pouted and turned to face him. “Too much?”

The way her face fell made his chest ache, and he immediately wanted to retract what he had said. His eyes moved from her to the house, scanning it top to bottom, taking in the way the simplicity of the single candles - fake, of course, but very warmly lit - in each window balanced the spray of brilliant white lights covering the shrubs at the front. The garland swagged along the railing of the porch was set with a vibrant red bow at each end, and lit with even more white lights. Luminaries outlined the curved sidewalk from the porch to the street, made of vintage looking white lanterns that were, in reality, all weather plastic with LED lights inside.

He supposed, overall, that it was very well put together, and didn’t really detract from the look of the house, but rather made it seem inviting and merry. It was not unlike what Belle had done for him in bringing him back into the world and showing him all its good parts again. She made him believe he could be a better person, and he’d done everything in the last year to prove it to himself and her, including making up with his long estranged son.

It could have been far worse. There was a home one block down whose yard was full of every possible and ridiculous inflatable Christmas decoration, including one depicting a Santa Claus trying to escape up a chimney whilst having his pants pulled down by a dog. 

A shudder went through him at the thought of a bare arsed Kringle on his lawn, and he shook his head, reaching for Belle’s gloved hands.

“I - I could take it down,” she offered, but he hushed her with a soft kiss.

“No, no, it’s - it’s fine,” he insisted, finally smiling in the glow emanating from his uncharacteristically festive house. “There’s no need. I’ll - I’ll get used to it.”


End file.
